S1: Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman on today's show. Financial advice for tough times and the many ways people are supporting each other in uncertain times. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. It's safe to say we're living through uncertain times politically , socially and economically here in San Diego. One third of households don't earn enough to cover basic needs like housing , food and transportation. For a lot of people. Money is a constant source of anxiety , and there can be emotions like shame and guilt wrapped all up in that. So how can you get the most out of your money even when things are tight ? What does budgeting and saving look like in an economy like this ? And how should you plan for future periods of uncertainty ? Well , joining me to help us tackle these questions is Mary Beth Sturgeon. She's a financial planner and CEO of Alora Wealth. Welcome , Mary Beth.
S2: Thanks for having me.
S1: So glad you're here to bring some clarity to this.
S2: Clarity and peace.
S1: Yes , yes. Well , the government shutdown is in its second month , and many San Diegans are working without pay and struggling to make ends meet.
S2: Like you said , the anxiety and shame that comes with this. And when it comes to taking charge of your finances , I think the biggest thing to know is one you're not alone. And two , you do have to pay attention to them , right ? So it's going to start with understanding your must needs , your must haves , and then those things that might be discretionary. So to take control of your finances , it's really digging in to create that bare , bare bones budget of what is essential to keep the roof over my head. To keep the lights on. To keep the food , and then maybe living a little bit leaner on the rest.
S1: All right , well , what are some daily choices then , that people can make to save money in tough times from , you know , the cost of groceries to housing and transportation ? Yeah.
S2: So first I want to start with anything that's negotiable , right. So if you're going to have if there's a rent membership subscriptions , anything that's negotiable should be renegotiated during this time. So don't be afraid to advocate for yourself. It seems a little uncomfortable , especially if we're not used to , you know , raising our hand and saying , hey , we need help , but looking for those things that can be flexible. So keep fixed cost , fixed cost , flexible if you can. And then you want to go ahead and cut some of those subscriptions. If you if you have anything that's kind of , you know , if you have 15 different cable subscriptions or , you know , Netflix , Disney , Apple , all of those things you want to go ahead and reduce there. You can actually also reach out to like SDG and your utility company if you are going through hardship. Most of these companies do have hardship programs and so you can reach out to them ahead of time , hopefully before you're delinquent or delayed on bills and let them know you're struggling. And they'll often work with you to get you on some sort of plan to catch up. Well.
S1: Well.
S2: And this is really about building that habit , that habit muscle. So if you have something like $25 a paycheck , $50 a paycheck , start building that habit of setting some money aside on an ongoing paycheck basis , even if it's 5 or $10. I would love for you just to get set with the automation on payday. You. Also , in order to make your money go the furthest you want to look into accounts like high yield savings accounts. Traditionally , a lot of people have that savings account with the pace , the place they have their checking account at the regular bank , but you're not going to get a higher yield on your money. So now you can get upwards of 3% if you're in a high yield savings account. And so you want to go ahead and put your money there to stretch it out a little bit further. Mm.
S1: Mm. Well , you know , these uncertain times really underscore the need for an emergency fund. Many San Diegans are actually dipping into those funds right now , though.
S2: While you'll often hear a lot of financial professionals talk about needing 3 to 6 months , I want you instead to just worry about that first $500. Right. Getting that first micro goal at that amount set aside , and that will cover small emergencies that could really set you off track. And so if you're again , going back to that 25 , $50 of paycheck , if you can set that aside and separate it from your checking account , that's a great way to get started. Then it's there in case there is , you know , if there's a car breakdown , an emergency. Something happen ? Breaks in the house. There's an unexpected medical bill. That's what the emergency fund is there for. It's unfortunately not there for upcoming holiday expenses or other areas. So you want to make sure that it is there to not so that you are not thrown off track by unexpected expenses and that you are saving for additional goals. In other accounts.
S1: There's another question I have in mind. You know , I know the the , the deregulation of financial institutions. Um , got a lot of support from Washington right now.
S2: And that's with deregulation regulation. You know , what people need to be doing is focusing on a diversified mix for their portfolios. Um , but what you can do is take advantage of any free money that's coming your way. So if your employer happens to have a match on your 401. For example , you want to go ahead and try to contribute at least up to that match so you can get the free money that is being given to you. I would say from the deregulation standpoint , the best thing you can do is stick to something that's diversified , that's known that , you know , and you're not trying to , um , pick something or take a guess as to what the next hot thing is. Hmm.
S1: Hmm.
S2: It is getting in terms of stretching your dollar. It's getting harder for people to feel like they are prepared. However , you should be again focusing on broad , low cost , diversified funds like index funds or target date funds within your portfolio. And you should be rebalancing those accounts and becoming more conservative as you are getting closer to retirement. So if you do have your 401 K and you're chasing those hot sectors , especially during election cycles. Tariff chains. You just want to make sure that you are focused on on a balanced , diversified strategy that's not going to put your funds even further at risk. Um , however markets market cycle , right ? That's why it's called a market cycle. There will be ups and there will be downs. Um , staying invested , staying in the market during this time is going to be the best thing. Um , rather than trying to time and get out and figure out what you would need to get back in.
S1: Another financial milestone , um , traditionally , is buying a home.
S2: Depending on where you are financially and , um , your understanding and ability to take on the financial costs that come with home ownership , because you're not looking at just a mortgage , you are looking at additional expense in terms of upkeep , maintenance , increases in annual property taxes , etc. in terms of home purchases in San Diego. Unfortunately , we continue to be in one of the most expensive , if not the most expensive real estate market in the country , so it is significantly harder to purchase home a home here in San Diego. Nationwide , though , home prices are trending down a bit and rates are coming down slightly , it still remains difficult to buy a home whether or not it is still part of the true American dream. I think it can be debated , and I've talked about this quite frequently. It really depends on what financial security and freedom looks like for you and what you want your life to look like. Home ownership does not necessarily meet a lot of people's goals or dreams these days. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. Well , you know , a lot of people also grow up in households where money is never talked about. You teach about something called money scripts.
S2: These might be things that we were exposed to. Like money is stressful. We might hear our mother hate to stereotype , say that I'm not good with numbers. We may have seen our father be the one who controlled the finances , or always did the paying of the bills. Um , there are things like money , worship or money scarcity. And these stories , actually , that we have inherited from growing up. They're invisible , and they tend to flare up during difficult moments in our financial lives. And they shape how we save and how we spend. So if we tended to grow up around spenders , maybe we have now become a very tight kind of person in terms of saving , where we don't allow ourselves to enjoy our money because we're so focused on saving and afraid of running out. Or we grew up around spenders and we inherited that same belief of , hey , why save for tomorrow when I should be enjoying my life for today ? And so these money scripts are these invisible notions that can impact our financial lives. And by being aware of them and doing some research on them for yourself. Self-Discovery. You can actually learn to rewrite them or understand how they're impacting your life and make some changes. Hmm.
S1: Hmm.
S2: You want to be looking at where the organizations are using their fund , their funds. Um , you can there's a charity navigator is a great site where you can screen some of those organizations , but you want to know where your funds are being deployed to. And a lot of times you can go to that general fund that can help support the organization's needs , but you can also do things like , we have the food scarcity that's happening right now and Snap benefits. You can look to make sure that your funds are going direct to causes that , you know , maybe going directly back to people who are in in need of food right now. And so I think the biggest thing is look for those rating scores on something like Charity navigator , make sure that you are not necessarily. We do need to have operational budgets , but make sure that you feel that your your funds are going to be used in a way in which you deserve. You also want to look for those tax deductibility. There's so many GoFundMe fees. Those are not going to get you a tax deduction. So if you are itemizing on your taxes and you are you are keeping track of those receipts. Make sure that your deductions are tax deductible. And they should be an actual 501 C-3.
S1: All right. I've been speaking with Mary Beth Jo Joanne. She's a financial planner and CEO of Alora Wealth. Mary Beth , thank you so much for your expertise in sharing it with us.
S2: Thank you.
S1: Before we take a break , I want to direct you , our listeners , to our website. Our newsroom is actually looking for San Diego families to help shed light on the cost of raising children here. Help us out by taking the survey on our website , KPBS. Also up next , a panel of guests on how people in San Diego are building community to nurture , organize and sustain themselves. KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. We've been talking about the uncertainty of the economy and how the current political landscape is leaving everyday folks scrambling to make ends meet. But when institutions fail to provide , community groups often step up to the plate to organize , nurture , feed and unify. Joining me now is a panel of local leaders working to empower our communities economically and politically. Brisa Johnson is executive director of the San Diego Black Worker Center. Brisa. Welcome. Hello. Welcome. Also , Diane Moss is founder and CEO for Project New Village. Diane , welcome to you. Thank you. And Andrea , Andrea Guerrero is also here. She is executive director of Alliance San Diego. Andrea , welcome.
S3: Thank you so much.
S1: So glad to have you all here.
S4: We're present day.
S1: All right. It's a good day. Um , Andre , I'm going to start with you on this one. I mean , who is the most vulnerable to the direct impacts of political moves from President Trump's tariffs to the ongoing government shutdown ? Right now.
S3: There are a lot of people who are very vulnerable right now low income individuals , immigrant families , LGBT community members , a lot of folks who are really at risk of this , the current political landscape. We are here at Alliance San Diego to Support community members in a myriad of ways. And I think the most important thing we want to do is connect people to each other and to resources. Because when you ask yourself , how are we going to get through this moment ? It's it's the answer is together. Mhm.
S1: Resa with the current state of the economy , where does that position the working class in our communities. What are they having to think about.
S4: Oh man. The working class is having to think about a lot of things because not only are their current , um , jobs at risk , I mean , we've seen more layoffs due to the attacks on Dei policies and specifically with black women. Um , so they're not only in threat of their everyday salaries and working jobs , but we're now in an economy where there are more unemployed people than there are jobs available. And now , in addition , we're seeing such an attack on , um , the education system for our children. So for working families who have young children and in Head Start programs who rely on afterschool programs , who rely on breakfast programs and free lunch programs. They're now having to concern themselves with the systems that have helped them sustain the current economic landscape. And so their children's lives are on fire. Their their work is in jeopardy. And there's so many of us that are suffering under this economy that the resources are also being depleted much faster and therefore help , unfortunately , is coming in much slower. And to Andrea's point. Together is really how we're going to continue to do this , thinking innovatively about how we remove ourselves from relying on systems and how we build ecosystems within our community , whether it be shared resources , um , bargaining , you know , opportunities , communities coming together to defund their funds from larger entities and put those coins and economic in those dollars right back into local businesses. Um. Community support , mutual aid funds. So it's it's a lot on working families who ultimately want to work and enjoy. You know , showing up at the job and being able to provide for their families. Right.
S1: Right. And speaking of sort of pulling all those resources together , Diane , your work is all about bringing food sovereignty to Southeast San Diego.
S5: And we have several efforts that are trying to push that agenda. Hmm.
S1: Hmm. And is that tell me talk a bit about why that's particularly important in areas where it's harder for for people to access healthy food.
S5: Well , if things arrive , they're always slow. Nothing comes when you need it , so you spend most of your time waiting. If you're not taking some action to bring to bring change about. So to me , it's the only alternative , right , that we have to be responsible for what it is that we need that's essential for a quality life. We're telling me if you have a backyard , you should grow food in your backyard , not just for you , but to share with your neighbors. And I'm. I work with my neighbors every day , and they're sharing their abundance in this time of need. Right. Yeah.
S1: You're teaching others the skills to do that , too. Right ? Absolutely.
S5:
S1:
S5: There's a network of about 20 people that are growing food in their backyards and making that food available to other neighbors. Wow.
S1: Wow. That's a that's a lot of.
S5: And our numbers are growing every month. For the last , say , four months , we've had more and more people coming out to our monthly meetings to learn how they can share , how they can get involved. Wow.
S1: Yeah , well , you know , you're clearly all committed to this work day in and day out. Despite the onslaught of challenges I'm sure you're facing. From funding cuts , though , to political pressure , many nonprofits are having a hard time keeping the doors open. What keeps you coming back to this work every day ? Diane.
S5: So I work with my neighbors. I live in the neighborhood I serve. I have nothing better to do with my life than to make situation better where we live. Yeah.
S1: Well , Teresa , I want to ask you the same question.
S4: And for me , it was actually Trayvon Martin in 2012. It was a huge moment where I realized that the only difference between me and Trayvon Martin's mother was the grace of God. Not where I lived , not the amount of money I made , not the education I had. And once I had that aha moment , my fight for community became different because I saw myself in the community differently. And I wholeheartedly believe in collective solidarity and more importantly , in collective responsibility. And I have a genuine heart of what's happening to others is happening to me , even if it's not directly or even if it's not now. I truly believe in the saying that like my freedom is tied to other people's freedom. And so because of that , I am committed to this work , ongoing because it is a part of my core now. It is a part of who I am. It's a part of how I think and how I operate , especially growing up in a Christian home where we were really taught to love our neighbors and to show up for the foreigners and to show up for the underserved and underprivileged. So it's really important for me to have those values show up in my work and in my everyday space. And I think the motivation just comes from the idea that , what's the alternative ? You know , the alternative would be to sit at home and and wait for it to knock on my door. Or the alternative would be to watch people suffer. And so my motivation isn't , um , it isn't inspirational speeches and it isn't books , although those help and they always add a little fuel to the fire , but the fire remains because it's it's my , you know , activism to plan it the same way Alice Walker taught us.
S1: That's right. And , you know , Brisa mentioned an aha moment.
S3: And so my heart is motivated by the the fight for a better life. The organization is inspired by the teachings of Doctor King , and in our everyday , we are trying to build a beloved community where everybody is treated with dignity and respect. So our work , present day is to try to elevate , claim and protect human rights that honor our inherent human dignity. We're living in a moment where our humanity isn't seen as shared by our political leaders , not all political leaders. And we have to remind ourselves in community that we do share that humanity and we have to take action. And so I love the work that Project New Villages is doing , and the San Diego Black Worker Center is doing. And so many of our other colleagues around San Diego. I think San Diego is is blessed in this way , and that we are rich in community organizations that are committed to working together , working with each other to strengthen the connections between and among us. And I think that's what's going to help us get all the way through this moment. Right.
S1: Right. And I want to talk more about the initiatives you're working on right now along in San Diego. You know , you all are really focusing on immigration and housing.
S3: We are talking to engaging with about 500 immigrants a week , providing information , and as well as assisting with any kind of legal remedies that might be available to people right now. The the fear is so acute in the immigrant community , most , you know , 1 in 4 of us are an immigrant , and many of us live in mixed status families with a mix of citizens , residents and and undocumented individuals. And so the terror that is being inflicted in our communities is real , and we are trying desperately to get information out to folks we have no rights , door hangers and other information. We have a great group of volunteers that are helping us get that information out with regard to housing. We are doing advocacy work at the local level to try to strengthen access to local housing , get rid of rental junk fees , and really trying to make housing more affordable here in San Diego.
S1: You know , just a moment ago , I brought up the challenges nonprofits are facing right now.
S3: Emotionally , I mean , we we worked our behinds off during Trump one , and when Trump two came around , I personally , I just I had PTSD immediately and I really had to take a step back and figure out how I was going to manage to get through these four years. But I think collectively , you know , I work with a dedicated group of people and a network and ecosystem of organizations that are coming together in this moment that said , like , we immediately had to , you know , print , know your rights materials. And we added staff. And at the same time , our our bigger institutional funders were freezing their assets or freezing their giving because they were under scrutiny. So that's , you know , that puts us back , you know , into a financial situation that we haven't been in since the beginning of the organization of struggle , but we're trying to meet the moment with everything we have and hoping , You know , by the grace of God that we will be able to continue to do that.
S1: And , you know , Diane , you work closely with community members and volunteers every day.
S5: And some of the people I hang out with. They , you know , you hunker down , you know , and remember the lessons from our history and tried to do better , right ? To try to pick good allies so that you can move forward with a solid force versus laying in wait for for the next issue to shoot a drop , if you will. So I think there's hope. I think that people want to get through this. I think that people are willing to do what it takes to be in a better space.
S1: Talk a bit about the history lessons , because we hear so often people , you know , talk about the current state that we're in as if we've not been here before , or at least certain people haven't been here before. Um , you know , tell me a bit about that.
S5: Our history is replete , if you will , with examples of things not going our way. Justice is nothing that you get or someone hands to you. It's a struggle and the decisions you make every day are the turnout is how the turn the struggle will turn out. So we need people to do more. I don't know. Self-actualization. Self. Knowing what your values are. Make actions that are in align with your actions. Work with others that share your values and really keep the faith. Um , I think those are the things that are at hand right away that you can use. Yeah , yeah , yeah.
S1: You know , I was talking to my mom the other day , and she was talking about , you know , while she was growing up. Um , the really , the neighborhood kind of took care of each other. You know , if somebody was sick , somebody was walking across the street with a cake and dinner and , you know , everybody kind of pulled together and took care of one another. Um , and that was at a time when , you know , humanity was being denied , at a time when institutions did not work for for black people and other people of color. Um , so talk a bit about , uh , economic independence. Right. And being being able to be self-sufficient. Berryessa. Yeah.
S4: Yeah. Um , so I think economic independence is actually crucial in this moment. It's actually something that we spent our Black worker summit discussing about the innovation of , of black people developing their own ecosystems and no longer relying on the current systems in play. I think more than anything , when we're talking about building our own ecosystems , it comes with a deprogramming and a decolonization of the mind. First , there is a lot of individualism that has been strategically programmed into our society , and folks have been moving in that isolation for years now decades and Covid only enhanced it even further. I think what we're seeing now is a breaking of a system that allows for minds to be liberated , and for people to start thinking outside of what's been given to them and really develop the systems , the institutions and the resources that they need collectively. And I think that's where that economic independence really plays a role. I think the biggest thing , though , when we talk about economics , is really focusing on how we're spending our money. And I think for too long we've been stuck in the state of comfortability and conveniences , and it has come at a cost of community. And so I think now more than ever , it is time for people to divest and really reevaluate where and when and how they're spending their money , especially in a time where money is sacred , always has been. But now when it's at the attack , you know , being attacked at the level that it is not sure if the paycheck is coming. Not sure if the benefits are coming and when that direct deposit is going to hit. If that job is going to call back , it is now more important than ever to know where each dollar is going and have it be accounted for , and do our best to put that dollar right back in the community. Shopping with local farmers. Shopping at local stores. Shopping with local businesses for the holidays. You know , there's tons of amazing local artists that have platforms and websites in which we could engage and buy our candles from and art from , and whatever gift you feel like giving for the holidays , right ? In addition to resources we need , there's businesses that are making their own deodorants and their own toothpaste. How do we stop shopping at these larger corporations who have made it very clear that they're not in alignment with the needs that community has , that they are not in alignment with protecting the community from the executive orders that are destroying our communities. And how do we start putting those funds directly back into our neighborhood and building and focusing on our own ecosystems ? Hmm.
S1:
S3: And we've watched , um , especially through Covid , how mutual aid supports have been critical. So , you know , right now our work is is trying to connect people to resources. Um , and support organizations like those who are here today , uh , who are doing the work of connecting people to resources. You know , the the formal systems are breaking down. Um , and the informal systems were always there , but they took a backseat. And I think they are becoming more important now more than ever. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. Diane. Community building also means , um , educating and organizing , which is something that you do a lot of.
S5: We run a a weekly community resident leadership training , if you will , and it's really about how to take charge in your community if those things are essential to having a quality life. You talked earlier about where we spend our money. We're looking at , we know we're in San Diego and it's a tourist town , but if you don't make an effort to put money in where you live in our neighborhoods , we're not having a tourist industry come in and support what it is we're doing. We have to spend the dollars. We have to make commitments to make investments in where we live and where we shop.
S1:
S4: There are a lot of electeds who are focused on the future , and they are missing the moment in the present. There are a lot of electeds who profit off the idea that certain parties represent certain groups of people , and the reality is the left wing and the right wing are on the exact same bird , and there has not been enough candidates that are community centered and community led. There are way too many egos that continue to push their own personal agendas and not the agenda of the voters. And it is not hard. It is really not that hard. And I guarantee you that actually being community centered will save that next seat for you or that next title that you want to achieve. And so I would really love for our elected officials to stop with the performative allyship , stop focusing on attending the galas and and attending the ribbon cuttings and actually talk to people , get back into the community , work with the organizations who work with the community , and let's bring back common sense policy. We have the number , we have the data. And at the end of the day , we don't need to keep coming out to city council meetings and getting our agenda on the docket. When you have all the data in the information , we really need our elected officials to just do the right thing , because there's way too many fires for us to continue to push our energy into calling them , meeting with their offices and getting them to do the right thing. If they just do it , then we will meet in the middle. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. I mean , you know , and a lot of the work you all do involves imagining a better world. And you all have so eloquently kind of stated what , what that would look like. But how do you see I see us doing that.
S3: Andrea choosing courage. You know , Reza was spot on. Um , we all need to choose courage. We need to choose courage in our own lives. And elected leaders need to choose courage. Courage to stand up for each other , for human decency , for human dignity. Uh , not chase the dollar. Not chase the position. Not chase the glory. Like , what is it going to take for us to take care of each other ? It's going to be to look at each other , to see each other and what our needs. And how can we fill them ? Step in the gap. Up. Um , and , you know , we have an all people celebration coming up that honors the living legacy of Doctor King in January. And our theme is Choose courage because we feel that that is what is called for in this moment. Diane.
S1: Diane.
S5: I just thought of the word empathy. Have empathy for others. Work with others and be active. You can't sit back and not take a role by not taking a role. You're saying something. So you need to be active in your activism , if you will. Yeah.
S4: I mean , I share , um , sentiments with Andrea and Miss Diane on courage and empathy. Um , I think there needs to be a consistent dying of yourself. I think that people need to be open to understanding that our way , the American way is , is very limited in comparison to the rest of the world , and we really need to take time to meet people where they're at. And we need to take some of these healthy conversations and dialogue offline and bring them back into real spaces. We need to be back into the coffee shops , back into the rec centers , back into the churches , back into the community halls , back into the parks , back into the barbershops. And you need to meet people where they're at. I think more than ever , communities need to be organized in a way that they haven't been before. And there's a real desire for people to understand politics differently , and there's a real desire for people to want to help. And so now more than ever , is really just showing up and dying of yourself so that you can learn and become someone new in the face of this movement. Wow.
S1: Wow. This has been a really great conversation , you all , and one that we will continue to have and one that I hope our listeners are having with their neighbors and their family and and so on. I've been speaking with Andrea Guerrero , executive director of Alliance San Diego. Also , Brisa Johnson , executive director of the San Diego Black Worker Center , and Diane mAh. She is founder and CEO for Project New Village. Of course , if you're looking for any of those resources , you can find them on our website , pbs.org. Thank you all so much for joining us.
S4: Thank you. Thank you.
S1: That's our show for today.
S6: I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
